News, Gym Talk, Events, and Articles to feed the Mind!

Now that the Open is almost over, I wanted to give you all an update on what we will be doing next in our programming and what we will be focusing on!

Time to work on some strength!!

This month we will focus on wrapping up the final workout of the 2020 Open. After the Open, we will take 2 weeks to “deload” mentally and throw really fun, pure GPP (general physical preparedness) programming. We’ve got some absolute classics to get after this month as retests...Jackie & Helen. These both will show up the week after the Open. In addition to these classics, we will also be revisiting the 20 Minute Clean and Jerk EMOM(Every minute on the minute), expect to see all of these earlier in the month. As we come toward the middle of November, we will be introducing a Wendler-style (5-3-1) lifting cycle for the Front Squat and Push Press. We will test these 1RMs before getting into the cycle. These two lifts are important in building raw strength that transfer over to the Clean & Jerk. We like Wendler because it is a very simple, easy to follow, and time-tested progression.

We will knock out The Wendler four-week building cycle in a traditional format. Week 1, we will hit a 3x5 of each, Week 2 a 3x3 of each, Week 3 a 5/3/1 of each, and then Week 4 we will deload. With each lift we will also provide percentages to base off of 1RM. If you don't get to hit the 1RM, you can also make the calculation off of the 3RM numbers we’ve tested this year. This will be a really great way to increase your strength and power through November, which will carry over when we test the 1RM Clean & Jerk in December! Happy lifting, folks!

Remember everyone! If heavy lifting is not on your priority list, No Worries!! We can absolutely modify the program to work towards your individual goals!

We are finishing up the 2020 Open!! Phew!! Its been a rough few weeks and I am proud of all of you for coming by and tackling all the Open Workouts so far! Just one more and we can get back to our regular scheduled programming!

There are a few things happening this month so be sure to keep scrolling down to learn more about each event!

One more Open Wod

Savannah Marathon

Thanksgiving Hours

Arrival of Baby Ninja

Friendsgiving/Christmas Party

Hogweights In House Competition

Give MC the Hammer Competition

One More Open Workout!!

Just like that...We have reached the end of our Open Workouts. Keep your intensity high and finish strong everyone!! Because this was the second time doing the Open this year, I did not really push you all to signing up with CrossFit HQ! Now that we have a year to get ready for the next one, I encourage you all to sign up when it comes around since we are all doing the Open workouts anyways!! It's cool to see how we stack up to people all over the world! If you have to scale, so what?! There are thousands of others who CrossFit that have to scale the Open workouts!

Be sure to send all of our Marathon/Half Marathon runners some great vibes on Saturday Nov. 2nd! Be sure to take a nice group photo if you can!! Best of luck everyone!!

Welcome some new faces!!

New member shoutouts from October! Please be sure to introduce yourselves to everyone pictured in the newsletter!! From the top we have Darryl, Angelica, Jennifer, Frank, Hunter, Josh, Hayden and Janice!! You will find Janice at 8am, she just asked me not to take photos.

Holidays, colder weather, comfort foods, pumpkin/cinnamon/peppermint flavored everything.... all going against us as we try to finish the year strong!! Just remember the old saying... the summer body is made in the winter! Unless you are bulking. Then by all means bulk away! Haha!

Stick to your regiment as best you can, kids! Just dress in layers when you come workout! My heaters try their best to keep the place warm, but can only heat that one little spot by the rig or the couches!!

Baby Ninja is sure to be on the way soon!! Our due date is supposed to be the 26th, so hours and classes may be subject to change for a little while as we get our newborn settled in at home and so I can take care of the family! But thanks to some of you who have reached out and offered a helping hand, you will all still be able to come by to get your workout in!! Maybe a class here and there will be Open Gym, but for the most part, there will be a coach to teach, assist, and walk you through our daily programming until I come back!

Our Thanksgiving Hours for that
week will be played by ear for now but here is what I am thinking!!

I know people get pretty busy this time of year but I hope everyone can make it!!

You can bring some grub, brew, wine, white elephant gift, and a tasteful sweater!

I am going to put together a little In House Competition, BIG TEAM STYLE!! After the Open is over, if you want to participate in this little throw down, just talk to me and I will add you to one of the houses on the white board!! You will have time to prepare! I will be choosing a date soon. If you are on the white board now and DO NOT want to participate, also let me know! More information on this soon!

Interested in competing for a cause? Join Savage Society for a Team Competition. Click HERE for more Details and how to sign up.

Thats all the Information Overload I have so far!!

It is a lot to take in so if you have any questions about anything, just reach out to me!

We have a few things going on this month! Starting October 10th, The Open will be starting up again! If you are new to CrossFit and are not sure what the Open is about then Click on this ==> LINK <== to learn a little more about it! For the rest of us...you already know what to expect! We will be performing the Open workouts each Friday over the course of the Open. Thursdays will be dedicated to active recovery workouts to get the body moving and mobilized so we are all ready to attack the Open Wod on Friday! I will set up a little competition for anyone that wants to participate! I will write up a separate email and make a post about it with more details!

Take advantage of the small time you have left to work on your weaknesses before or after classes! Don't throw a tantrum when a movement like the double under or Toe to Bar pops up in the open and all of a sudden you hate life because you have not practiced them! Think I was speaking to Matt the other day who said he wishes he can just learn how to do everything relatively well, but it's very difficult because CrossFit incorporates so much!! Yes it does! And believe me! It took me a good loooong while to finally become, kind of, good at most things we do here! As long as you keep making yourself practice and practice...I promise things will start to click!

Joint Competition with Locust Grove
Saturday, September 28th
9am to 11 or 12

Instead, free up a few hours and throw down on a little friendly competition at Crossfit of Locust Grove! Never competed?? Its totally alright! The workouts are doable for everyone and its a great opportunity to workout with others outside our gym! This is a FREE event for both our gym's members!

The address is:
108 Park 42 Dr, Locust Grove, GA 30248

If anyone wants to carpool from our gym, just meet up at 8am and we could make our way over there!!

WOD 1: You and your partner build up to a heavy
Clean + Hang Cluster + Shoulder to Overhead
on a 12 minute clock!

New member shoutouts from September! Keep all these people accountable and encourage them to keep coming back! Please be sure to introduce yourselves when you run into Sonja, Maddy, Austin and Christian! We also have Mannon, Angelica and Nicole. I just haven't had a chance to snap a picture!! You will all get your social media spotlight soon! I promise.

It's here.... The Open.... twice in one year?! Dear lord, why?? I'm already dreading the thruster workout that is sure to kick my butt like it does every year! But who knows?? Maybe they won't do a thruster workout this year. But that's just hopeful thinking since they always throw in thrusters! We have slowly been preparing for this, so just come in like you always do and kick some butt!

Baby Shower and Tacos!

Saturday October 12th @ 10am

Join us for some games, treats, and tacos! Mom is putting together a Baby Shower for us and would like to invite you all to come be a part of the festivities! I am in the shadows as to what she has planned for the day, so I can't really give you any information other than that!

We will have a Taco stand on deck with all the meats and all the fixings! So if you know you can make it, please just let me know (if you have not added yourself to the google sheet) so we can let them know how much food to bring!

You can add yourself to the list here! =====> I LOVE TACOS
Just add your name and number of folks coming with you!
Thank You!

I am clocking out early for Halloween!!

Thursday October 31st

3:30 and 4:30 afternoon classes only!!

NO 5:30 and NO 6:30!

Going to take Zae trick-or-treating!!

ROMWOD!

Take advantage this month while we hit these Open Workouts and use the ROMWOD room! Just get with me to get it rolling and take 10-20 minutes to get mobile before or after your workouts! Are you making the best of your rest days?! I know I am not! Haha. Incorporate some ROMWOD in your off days if you can make it to the gym! Can't make it?? Make up your own routine at home for a good 10-20 minutes! It will keep those pesky injuries at bay before they even think about happening! Stay Flexy, friends!

August was a big month for Unyielding! Lots of new faces have joined us along with some members who were away for military training and I am very excited to have you all with us!

**Monday September 2nd for Labor Day**
**8 and 9am Class only!!**

Now onto September! This month will bring along some classic benchmark workouts! Starting off with "Grace" and then following up with "Fight Gone Bad" soon after! If you have been with us for a while then these are no strangers to you and know what to expect! We will also be testing our 3RM for the push press, deadlift and front squat in this cycle!

September will continue to highlight at least one “popular” Open skill each week. We’ve noticed a trend of DB work becoming more and more popular in the Open, so expect to be getting very used to the odd objects while still covering down on other Open classes like TTB, MU, Pull-Ups, and...the Thruster. I hate to be the one to tell you this but you will be seeing some variation of the Thruster almost every week. Keep your favorite movements close and keep your least favorite closer ;). Get ready for an amazing month of workouts.

Welcome some new faces!!

We have some amazing new members that joined us in August!! You have most likely worked out with them already, but be sure to introduce yourselves and tell them how cool the owner is and to bring in more friends.... Haha. Welcome to the Unyielding Family!! Starting from the top of this Newsletter, we have Malissa and Chad Smith, Tori and Jason Smith, Holly Thompson, Teri Doepke and Rodney Crosby! Curtis Woods has also joined us!, but he doesn't like me being a paparazzi!

Fantastic job on the squat cycle everyone!! We saw some sweet new Personal Records! Now you have the privilege to squat heavier when we do percentage work again!! This month we will shift our focus on the upcoming Open in October! So you may notice some shorter AMRAPS and single arm work. Don't underestimate the short workouts! That's when Intensity plays a key role and you will be feeling it for the next few days! The Open always seems to test us on our weaknesses so be sure you are working on them!

As I mentioned above, I will be including skill sessions to our programming, so try not miss out on those days when you see them! So if you hate those higher skilled movements like muscle ups and HSPU's... come to class!!! You can only get better by trying the movement!

Joint Competition with Locust Grove
Saturday, September 27th
9am to 11 or 12

This will be a little throw down to get your competition blood ready for the Open!

Teams will be Chosen at Random

Teams of 2

ALL names will be thrown into the name drawing, so mixed gym teams are possible!

RX and Scaled Division

WOD 1: Strength-

10-12 minutes to build up Clean + Hang Cluster + Shoulder 2 Overhead.

WOD 2: Chipper- Will Change some after some testing! But somewhere along the lines of.....

This month we are going to start the 800g Challenge!! So I hope you all have your food scale by now! All the information that you need is below. I will create a facebook page where we can try to keep each other accountable by sharing recipes, photos, and whatever else!

The extra challenge I will give you is to have some sort of CONTROL over your portions.

Those of you who have done the RP diet templates are already familiar with how to portion meals and will be ahead of the game! Do not over eat! its that simple, BUT it's so terribly hard when first starting. Give your body some time to adjust and you be dropping pounds and inches in due time!

The Challenge

Eat 800 grams (g) of fruits and/or vegetables (total) a day.

No foods are restricted during the challenge but only fruits and vegetables count towards the 800g total.

Total calories (and macronutrient grams) are up to the individual based on their fruit and vegetable choices, as well as the other foods in their diet.

The Nitty-Gritty

The key is that you can weigh the item as a standalone or unprocessed item. It does not matter if the item is cooked, canned, frozen, or fresh.

You can count fruit and vegetables you weigh before making a recipe applied to the serving you consume (i.e., veggies in a chili, ingredients for blending in a smoothie).

Canned items are ok if canned in water and/or spices only, like canned black beans, and you weigh the drained solids.

Refuse (peels, cores, or skins) that are not consumed should not be included.

The expectation is that you weigh and measure at home, work, etc. You can eyeball fruits and vegetables from restaurants (no need to break out the scale for ordering broccoli). We expect you to use a restaurant’s website nutrition information where available (e.g., Chipotle). Be sure you estimate appropriately: leafy greens do not weigh much (~25g a cup) and most restaurant vegetable portions are often ~75-85 grams.

As for the cooking oil, assuming it is a standard light coating, do not worry about the oil contribution and weigh the item cooked.

You can cheat any diet or system. Go with the spirit of the challenge and when in doubt, do not count it.

The “Yes/Nos”

Hopefully, we don’t have to list all the existing fruits and vegetables! You know these. Here are a few exceptions that can be confusing:

Avocado: A fruit! Count it.

Coconut: A fruit! Count it if you eat it as the fresh meat. Liquid (milk and juices) and dried (flakes) coconut products do not count.

Corn: As in corn on the cob or whole kernels, count it! Corn derivatives (i.e., cornmeal, popcorn (derived from dried kernels)) do not count.

Fermented/pickled foods (e.g., kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles): Assuming its just vegetables and weighed (relatively) drained, these count. If the brine includes sugar, it does not count.

French fries: No. Commercially fried anything is out for the 800g total. Cut up potatoes roasted at home are fair game.

Grains (like quinoa or buckwheat) do not count.

Legumes (beans) and peas: Except for peanuts, count them!

Olives: A fruit! Count them.

Nuts: Do not count towards your total.

Tomato derivatives (e.g., salsa, tomato sauce): If the entire ingredient list is vegetables and spices, count it. Most tomato sauces, salsas, etc., however, include water, oil, and/or sugar in the ingredient list, such that they do not count.

Per above, you can cheat any diet or system. If you are questioning if something counts, it probably does not.

Mobility/Stability Corner

Ankles... Who has time to mobilize those?? You need to!!! Want to get better at pretty much every movement we do here at the gym?? Then start mobilizing your ankles. Take advantage of all the videos I have shared in the newsletters lately. You will start to notice big changes not only in your range of motion, but also in your recovery time!

School is back in session!! Sorry Teachers....its time to jump back into the fray! Don't let that deter you from coming to the gym! I will still be waiting for you!

Schedule is back to its old self! NO MORE 9AM on weekdays! Just 5,6, and 8AM again for the mornings.

Afternoon classes will still be 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30pm Monday through Thursday.
NO 6:30pm on Fridays

We are close to finishing our Squat cycle!! Just a few more weeks before we test our 1 Rep Max! So be sure to get your squats in during the week if you missed it! With the Open slowly creeping back up in October, we will have more skill sessions to dial down on some weaknesses. I can only do so much in our class time to try to help you all get better. Are you putting enough time into your own weaknesses outside of class time?? What gave you trouble in the last Open?? Ask me for help! I can give you pointers and progressions to help, BUT IT'S UP TO YOU TO MAKE TIME to work on them!

Welcome some new faces!!

Be sure to get to know Erin Elmore and Angelia Cameron! They are the newest addition to our Unyielding family and have been kicking butt since they joined up!! Keep up the amazing work ladies!

Just a few more weeks before we test the Squat! Trust the process and try to stick with the prescribed percentages! Don't get caught in the excitement and jump the gun on hitting some heavier numbers if you are feeling pretty powerful while you hit 90-95% of your max. You will have the opportunity soon, I promise!

You may have noticed some things in the programming where one week seems to be a lot tougher than the following week, then it gets pretty rough again! The thought process is, you can't go hard and heavy every single week! Our bodies need some de-load and recuperation time so we can bounce back stronger once our bodies have rested. If you feel like a million bucks though, just remember that we have plenty of other programs that you could look into for extra work! Don't take the other programs lightly....I do a lot of the workouts and they kick my butt every time! In the end, remember that we are in this for the long haul!

SOCCER GAME WAS SO MUCH FUN!! THANKS FOR COMING!

I had a blast hanging out with all of you and hope we will continue to get together as much as possible!

Nutrition Challenge!!

The Challenge

Eat 800 grams (g) of fruits and/or vegetables (total) a day.

No foods are restricted during the challenge but only fruits and vegetables count towards the 800g total.

Total calories (and macronutrient grams) are up to the individual based on their fruit and vegetable choices, as well as the other foods in their diet.

The Nitty-Gritty

The key is that you can weigh the item as a standalone or unprocessed item. It does not matter if the item is cooked, canned, frozen, or fresh.

You can count fruit and vegetables you weigh before making a recipe applied to the serving you consume (i.e., veggies in a chili, ingredients for blending in a smoothie).

Canned items are ok if canned in water and/or spices only, like canned black beans, and you weigh the drained solids.

Refuse (peels, cores, or skins) that are not consumed should not be included.

The expectation is that you weigh and measure at home, work, etc. You can eyeball fruits and vegetables from restaurants (no need to break out the scale for ordering broccoli). We expect you to use a restaurant’s website nutrition information where available (e.g., Chipotle). Be sure you estimate appropriately: leafy greens do not weigh much (~25g a cup) and most restaurant vegetable portions are often ~75-85 grams.

As for the cooking oil, assuming it is a standard light coating, do not worry about the oil contribution and weigh the item cooked.

You can cheat any diet or system. Go with the spirit of the challenge and when in doubt, do not count it.

The “Yes/Nos”

Hopefully, we don’t have to list all the existing fruits and vegetables! You know these. Here are a few exceptions that can be confusing:

Avocado: A fruit! Count it.

Coconut: A fruit! Count it if you eat it as the fresh meat. Liquid (milk and juices) and dried (flakes) coconut products do not count.

Corn: As in corn on the cob or whole kernels, count it! Corn derivatives (i.e., cornmeal, popcorn (derived from dried kernels)) do not count.

Fermented/pickled foods (e.g., kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles): Assuming its just vegetables and weighed (relatively) drained, these count. If the brine includes sugar, it does not count.

French fries: No. Commercially fried anything is out for the 800g total. Cut up potatoes roasted at home are fair game.

Grains (like quinoa or buckwheat) do not count.

Legumes (beans) and peas: Except for peanuts, count them!

Olives: A fruit! Count them.

Nuts: Do not count towards your total.

Tomato derivatives (e.g., salsa, tomato sauce): If the entire ingredient list is vegetables and spices, count it. Most tomato sauces, salsas, etc., however, include water, oil, and/or sugar in the ingredient list, such that they do not count.

Per above, you can cheat any diet or system. If you are questioning if something counts, it probably does not.

Mobility/Stability Corner

Thoracic Spine Mobility is essential when it comes to putting a barbell overhead for pressing movements and Snatches. Having sufficient mobility allows us to get upside down for handstands too! Take some time to work on that lovely spine that we make work so hard on a daily basis.

I will be sending out a separate email about how you can utilize all of the programs that we offer now and how each one is different! If you check your Wodify, you will see that I have changed the names of the programs so members and future members any will have choices other than CrossFit.

As always! You can reach me if you need anything. My number is 470-234-5345

Remember everyone! 9am class is still available until school starts back up.
3:30 seems to have become the popular class and the weather still isn't too bad, so I will keep the class going.

Schedule for next week!! Your coach needs a little R&R... So

July 3rd- MY BIRTHDAY! WHOO. NO 5:30 or 6:30. Gonna spend the night with my family!

Thursday July 4th - 8 and 9am ONLY. NO 5AM and 6AM. NO AFTERNOON CLASSES. Go enjoy the fireworks!!

Friday July 5th- CLOSED

Saturday July 6th- Normal 9AM Class

If anyone with access is going outside of the times where I am not there, then they can make a post and you can go workout!

Program focus for the month will lean more towards gymnastics in our skill sessions and some of the metcons. Who doesn't love that, right?? So be ready for some strict pull ups, being upside down more, and working with the rings for rows, push ups, and holds. We are also starting an 8 week Squat cycle. Be sure not to miss the squat days! Tempo, rep schemes and percentages will be changing over the following weeks to get those legs strong.

Welcome some new faces!!

We have some New Members and some members who are making a comeback! It's so great watching the gym grow! Thank you all for deciding to make Unyielding your place to come throw some weights around. Please be sure to introduce yourselves and welcome Ericha, Brianna and Gene! Please welcome back Stephanie, Michael, Kristy, Bob and Natalie!

Upcoming Birthdays This Month!

Be sure to tell these members Happy Birthday when the day comes around!

I'll take a moment to say that you have all been doing an awesome job over the last few months!! Program focus had leaned more towards barbell control, moving quickly in workouts and breathing heavy. But you may have noticed that you are still hitting new PR's! So keep up the great work as we switch focus once again to our powerful tree trunks! Twigs, in my case when you think my ankles might snap when I am squatting under a barbell.... The Metcons will still have us moving and breathing hard and I am looking forward to seeing everyone constantly get faster and stronger!

Also...

I am super excited we get to spend the day together and watch the Soccer game! Remember, If you have an idea for something for all of us to do, then bring it up to me or on the facebook page. Shane told me to let him know if we wanted to go to a baseball game and he could help with the hookup. So lets take advantage if you want to go to a ball game soon! I have two ideas below if you are a fan of water slides and comic book heroes!

SIX FLAGS & COMIC CON IN ATLANTA !JULY 5 and 12-14th

Friday after Independence Day I will not be opening the gym. Those of you with access to the gym can make a post and throw down with whoever wants to go. I will be taking advantage of my Season Pass that never gets used and take the girls to Six Flags White Water Park! Want to meet us there and have some fun in the sun?? Then come on!

For my cool friends who are fans of the Comic Book Universe... Nerds as some may call us.... Let's meet at Comic Con. I can make a facebook post about it before then, but if you are thinking about going, let me know!

DRIVEN NUTRITION DISCOUNT!!

20%OFF

I need to get rid of the Driven Nutrition I have on hand! I am afraid that the heat will eventually get to the AMINOS and PRE-WORKOUT. So I will be selling them for 20% OFF. I will of course let you open it first to see if its still fresh before I take your money! The Lemonade is my jam and I only have a few if you want one. The protein always holds up really well but I will go ahead and sell those for 20% off this month as well. Its WHEY, So if you are avoiding milk products, don't get it because it taste super good! If you ever need anything from them, I can order it for you. They ship super quick now.

Mobility/Stability Corner

Take some time to prep your core and back for those heavy lifts like the squat deadlift and olympic lifts! "The McGill Big 3" are excellent movements to add to your arsenal. Incorporate these to your daily routine if you are experiencing some lower back issues as well!

Hope you all take advantage of the month before the craziness of school starts up again!! That doesn't mean slack off on your training though!! Still come to the gym, then go take advantage.

Staring Monday June 3rd, I am bringing back the 9AM class! It will run until School starts up again!

When 3:30 becomes unbearably hot, I will get rid of that class until it cools back down some. Safety first!! I will let everyone know when that may happen though!

If you’ve been paying attention, we’ve worked our way through 3RM and 5RM from many of our main lifts. In June, we are going to slow things down a little bit by adding some prescribed tempo to our main lifts. By slowing down and spending more time under tension, we are looking to create some new adaptation and build some better habits -- respect the tempo!

Welcome some new faces!!

We had a nice influx of new members join us last month!! I am so happy to see our Gym grow! Thank you for joining us! Please be sure to keep these folks accountable so they don't slack off! Be sure to say hello to Crystal Bergl, Matt Thompson, Lisa Bertelson, Ashleigh Walton, and Shane Murray!!

Upcoming Birthdays This Month!!

Be sure to tell these members Happy Birthday when the day comes around!!

PLEASE DRINK WATER OR SOME TYPE OF SPORTS DRINK AT LEAST 20- 30 MINUTES BEFORE WORKING OUT IN THE AFTERNOON!

Its HOT... I know! But what can I do?? Not much, I don't control the weather! So come prepared instead! Hydrate before coming to the hotter classes in the afternoon. Sip on water during the workouts, and drink something to replenish all the sodium and potassium you lose in our workouts!

Remember, if you feel thirsty, you are probably already dehydrated!! So chill your roll and be sure to cool your body temp down to avoid heat exhaustion.

ATLANTA UNITED GAME
JUNE 29th @ 6PM

At the end of the month, 40 of us will be attending the ATL United soccer game!!! I cannot wait to hang out with all of you! If you were not able to make it to this gym outing, don't worry! I will try to set something else for all of us to do!

To those of you going to the game! Remember that we will have access to the Pre-Match Party which starts at 1:30! I will distribute tickets soon!

Maybe a Baseball game should be in the works like last time, tubing in Helen, white water rafting?? If you have any ideas for something, please don't hesitate to come talk to me and I can write some dates on the white board that could work for many of us!!

Summer time means showing off that CrossFit Body a little more! If you aren't seeing the results that you have been looking for, then you may need to change your method of how you attack your daily routines outside of the gym! I have tried to focus more on the metabolic condition portion of the new fitness pyramid, but how many are making NUTRITION your TOP priority?!

Remember, If you are looking to shed weight. Portion control will be your best tool of attack! Along with a SLIGHT calorie deficit over time. Please don't go from 2500 calories, to 800!! Your body will hate you and you will find yourself in a bathtub, crying while eating ice cream.... Instead you should reduce your calories by 100-200 a week until you find that magic number where you still feel great! This can work if you are tracking what you eat.

Looking for strength and gains?! Then you need to EAT TO PERFORM! You will need some extra calories to keep those muscles strong and to help with faster recovery. However, this does not mean EAT EAT and EAT whatever you want. You eat high quality single ingredient super foods!

Need Help choosing what may work best for you?? Just sit down with me or shoot me a message!

Mobility Corner

Our shoulders take a beating! So be sure to give them some love with Banded stretches. Here are a few examples to choose from!

If any of you are taking some time off, be sure to let me know!! We have a few of you leaving for vacation and military training! Good luck with your training and have fun on your travels!!

We have a doozy of a month coming your way...let’s dive in. In May, we are going to be tackling some BASELINE tests. These workouts are specifically designed to give you a snapshot of your current fitness by testing some of our favorite movements. In BASELINE_1, we will test our aerobic conditioning with a 12:00 run + row effort as well as our bodyweight proficiency with a 12:00 triplet of pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups.

In BASELINE_2, we will test our strength with a 5RM Back Squat followed by a lovely 2:00 test on the Bike.
We will also be seeing some benchmarks. You will be treated to a few classics...Grace, Fight Gone Bad, and tests of our 3RM Front Squat, Push Press, and Deadlift.

Welcome some new faces!!

Michael Ponicsan

Brandon Sheppard

Please be sure to introduce yourselves when you run into these two!! These two really go all out trying to catch those on the leaderboards! They may be gunning for you so stay on your toes!

I hope you have all been enjoying the workouts! I wish I could say they are coming out of my brain most of the time, but I am not a master programmer! I will be the first to admit I am not the best of anything when it comes to program design, but I can come up with fun workouts by tweaking, modifying, and splicing together workouts that look like something you would all enjoy/hate/love! What I am good at is teaching, coaching, and spotting flaws that can be corrected! Our program design is based off of Comp Train, NCFit, Invictus, CrossFit HQ, and a few others that I have tested in the past! These guys all have amazing programs, and I want to bring some of those to you guys all while working towards specific goals each month. So If you want to focus on one thing more than another, let me know and I can tweak our programming to fit our overall goals!

Keep up the high fives, the fist bumps, the pat on the backs, the screams of encouragement, and the endless support you all give one another in class, social media and through Wodify! While you are at it, encourage and cheer on people not involved in our gym! There is enough fitness for everyone in our community and they will no doubt appreciate some positive vibes going their way!

MURPH!!

May 27th @ 8am and 9am to beat the heat!!

Murph is fast approaching and I hope you are all getting some practice in with your vests!! Be on the lookout for deals if you do not have one and would like to purchase one. I will not be doing an incentive deal this year, but I encourage you to get one for your future training as it does make things much more difficult and make you look like a Bad A**!

Murph is more than just a workout! It is a tradition that pushes us, humbles us, and allows us to dedicate a bit of pain and sweat to honor a man who gave everything he had!

Bring some drinks and finger foods so we can hang out afterwards!! Keaton will bring his grill and can make some burgers and hotdogs!

I'll ask Silent Reaper and Next Rung to have some gear for you guys during the event! So be sure to bring your buddies to workout with us and score some swag. They have some really cool patches to add to your vests!

little warning....High volume of movements such as Murph paired with celebratory alcohol for finishing this great workout may increase chance of Rhabdo.... Just putting it out there!!! So be sure you are hydrated and stay hydrated to avoid that nonsense! No one has time for that!

Blake is throwing a May Challenge for anyone who wants to participate!! Set 30 seconds aside, grab your jump rope, grab your camera, and jump for a great cause. Simply submit your video on social media and tag Next Rung to be entered to win a prize! Top male and female finishers for both single unders and double unders will be receiving a nice little rope from Mute Sports Equipment!

Mobility Corner

Worlds greatest stretch! Take a few moments after our daily warmups to go through this stretch to prime your body for an awesome workout!

I do want to thank those of you who have been recommending the new faces to come by and try us out! They all come in saying the same thing....That they have heard nothing but great things about the gym and everyone here creating an awesome vibe to workout in.

You will be seeing some new equipment making its way into the gym! Little things here and there to make this an even cooler place to get your workout in!

The Open is Over!!

Well, ladies and gents the 2019 Open is officially CLOSED! We are back to our regularly scheduled programming. The Open saw some amazingly tough workouts, feats of strength and athleticism, and new PRs...it was a heck a time. But now...onward and upward! In April we shift our focus to POWER. Each week we will see Olympic lifting work that will build toward the end of the month with a heavy single for both the Clean & Jerk and Snatch. These lifts are some of the purest expressions of both power and speed combined. We are looking forward to a lot of PRs! It will be a packed month with a lot of challenging and fun workouts!

New Member Shout Outs!

I would like to welcome some new faces that have joined our Unyielding Family over the last few weeks! Some a little further back but still need an introduction. From the early risers we have Byron, Grace, Zach, David, and Rhiannon!! The afternoon newcomers consist of Heather, Alga, Regina and Joshua! Then we have some folks making a comeback! Its good to see Fabian, Robert, JC and Jacob back in here!

Be sure to introduce yourselves whenever you see them!! You all pretty much do it anyways! To me, that's pretty dang great! So thank you for being so awesome!

I want to say thank you for allowing me the opportunity to coach you guys over this last month!! Taking over classes has been wonderful and I really love to coach you all! You will be seeing a lot more skill work throughout our programming. It is never a bad time to stop learning! Even if you believe you have reached the pinnacle of a certain movement, I bet you can learn something to refine it even more. I encourage you to look into your weaknesses outside the gym through videos or articles. I wish I had all the answers for every little thing, but I am also constantly searching for ways to get better myself!

Travel Workouts!

Keaton sent this to me to share a while back and now that Spring Break is here, I think its a good time to show you all! You have no excuse to put off a workout!

Brian Murphy also Wanted to share some advice for anyone who wants to start running! Check the Link HERE It will give you some tips and tricks about the POSE Running method! If you want to start working on that summer body, running may be the key to help lose some extra weight!

Mobility Corner

Couch Stretch - Do it every day! Just a minute a day on each leg will do wonders!

Thanks for making it through my first REAL attempt at a snazzy newsletter!! I will do my best to keep up with these every month for sure. If I have something urgent come up or exciting news, I will send it out of course!

To all of you who are traveling for Spring Break, be safe and see you when you get back!

Coming off our nutrition challenges and talking with some of you about hitting macro nutrients to help with your training, I wanted to talk a little on how the body breaks down protein in an easy to understand way.

As stated in my "belly fat" email, Fats and Carbs are the energy source to power our body. Proteins are the building blocks to repair damaged muscles from getting shredded in our wods.

"I heard that I am suppose to eat one gram of protein per pound and the body can only absorb 20-30 grams of protein at a time, coach?!"

Once the stomach breaks down protein, it is broken down into Amino Acids... sound familiar?? We sell them! Hint hint. Get yours today for a low low price!! Haha These amino acids are the building blocks for the body. The small intestines then absorb these Aminos into the bloodstream for muscle growth and repair. We can even store some of the extra Aminos in our muscles for later use.

The small intestines can only absorb so much while gut is doing its thing, which is where folks start talking about limited protein absorption.

But...Different foods absorb at different rates in the body. You have all seen the whey proteins, plant based proteins, Casein, and isolates being sold. And of course you have all the variety of tasty foods out there with protein!

Whey Protein and Isolates get used the fastest where as casein and solid foods get used slower. "But how, coach?"

The presence of protein in the stomach stimulates the production of a hormone that delays “gastric emptying” (the emptying of the food from the stomach). This slows down intestinal contractions and thus how quickly the food moves through the small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed.

Basically our body buys us time to break down as much of of the protein we consume! The Body is pretty much a Bad A**!

So how much do we need?? A good general rule of thumb is to consume one gram per KILOGRMAM of body weight for the average Jane or Joe.

B U T!

We workout 4-6 times a week! We need more!Our muscles are bigger and better! So we need more!Some of us aren't so young anymore.... The older we get, the more protein we need to maintain our muscle! So we need more!

Now I want to give you an example of three things here and how timing of getting your protein isn’t that important as long as you are getting your daily needs to repair the body.

I eat multiple times a day. Each meal consisting of a good variety of protein, fats and carbs. I workout around 9am or during the afternoon classes, but because I have eaten a good hour before, I don’t necessarily need to gulp down my protein shake right away because I have already been processing my food and have some Aminos ready for action!

Sometimes though…I wake up, have a coffee or green tea and try to hit a workout. That is when I would need some tasty BCAA’s or fast digesting protein (which we also sell…cough cough) to help me out, post workout.

My younger brother has been on a vegan diet for over a year and is also fasting every day. Now... he goes to the absolute extreme and fasts for 23 hours and only eats as much as he can in a full hour. Literally has a table full of high quality, nothing processed, and almost 0 sugar (unless its from fruit or organic jams) and does not stop eating for 60 minutes!! Its pretty crazy to watch him! His body however has become accustomed to using the 23 hours to digest and get as much of the nutrients he can get. Alex does weightlifting, boxing, Yoga and sometimes you will see him in the gym working out with us. His body has adapted to use everything he puts in his body to work for him!

I get most of my protein from meats, eggs and shakes. He gets his from beans, lentils, quinoa, rice, tofu….pretty much everything else! Mine are tastier though…Haha.